Moving to Australia? Read our tips on how to pack

Moving to Australia? Read our tips on how to pack

The key to a successful move is planning, planning and more planning. Use this Interactive Checklist tool for a guide to the kinds of things you’ll need to do before you move to Australia.

When it comes to packing up your household goods and personal effects for shipping to Australia (via air or sea) we have some handy tips for you:

Clean everything – your household goods will be inspected when they arrive in Australia. Any items that have been in contact with food, soil, plants, animals or animal products must be thoroughly cleaned and dried to ensure they are free from contamination

Inspect everything- look closely at the surface of anything made from timber for signs of insect infestation. Does it have any traces of sawdust-like powder, fresh holes, chew marks or tunnels on the timber? If you find any of these signs of infestation you must either treat the items or dispose of them. Also if you have these items treated make sure you retain the certificate verifying treatment as authorities may need to sight it

Secure everything – any loose items, such as sharp kitchen utensils, glass or ceramic items should be wrapped up safely

List everything - when packing your personal effects, prepare a master list that includes all the items contained in each box that you are shipping. This list will be required by authorities in Australia. It may also be useful to keep a copy of this list to use as your own unpacking guide.

There are two golden rules you need to keep in mind when packing, according to the Australian Department of Agriculture:

RULE ONE - the department will be interested in any item that originated from an animal or a plant (including timber), or contains part of an animal or a plant.

RULE TWO - the department will be interested in any item that has been in contact with animals, plants, water, food or soil. For example, these items of interest could include used shoes; camping equipment; or garden tools.

Below are some items that the Department will not permit to be imported: